Who do you get help from at lenovo?

I am a grad student. My advisor just got me a lenovo laptop.
It was a thinkpad t510. I received it and noticed it did not have an integrated camera as advertised. I was on the phone for ages with tech support until the guy finally said yeah, you convinced me it doesn't have a camera.

I thought "that is nice since I can see it right in front of me..."


He says to call 877694465

So I do. They tell me my computer doesn't have a camera. I say well it said it did on the advertisement.

They say I must have been mistaken. I explain that it is fairly straightforward. They give me an email. I send them a copy of the ad. It is attached.

Then I never hear back. I call back a few times and they say things like our email is down. So and so is doing it and they are out. This is like a week ago (December 1st actually).

Is lenovo service just this crappy? I thought it would be nice to get a thinkpad, but after this experience I am certainly not enamored with them.

So what the heck do I do to get some service?

Personally I am sick of the run around. I would rather just buy the parts myself than waste the time since I could just install them. But then I would lose their worthless warranty. Anyway the reason I was posting was b/c I imagine lenovo is subcontracting their customer service out and I cannot imagine they realize how pathetically substandard it is.

I am one of those people like many here I am sure who is constantly asked about what computers to get, and I hate to see lenovo do such a pathetic job.

 

some Thinkpad have integrated camera some don't, it only depends on the option you pick during the ordering process.

So what is your full machine model type no? in the format of xxxx-xxx (don't need the serial no.?).

Also, did your advisor selected the camera option on the T510 when he/she ordered the laptop for you?

 

running a parts lookup on your system using the MTM/SN in the PDF, there's no camera installed.   this appears to have been a typo on the outlet site.

honestly, it would be a LOT faster to install the parts yourself.   as long as you don't break or damage anything in the process, you won't void the warranty.

if this isn't an acceptable option then please post a message over on forum.lenovo.com and someone will look into it.

 

Exactly it was a typo. But normally a company doesn't shaft you for their typo. The thing is I could have ordered a computer with slightly improved specs and the camera from their main store. I just saw the outlet one and since I was planning to swap to a SSD anyway the 500GB HDD did not appeal to me for $30 more.

I wish the tech support would just say, ok it is a typo. We will send you the parts (at a minimum). Having to purchase a $70 part is a bit of a slap in the face since it was only $30 more to get the other setup.

The warranty stuff is good to hear though, but I also doubt their warranty is of much use considering the way they handled this.

@ Lead you don't get to select options at outlet. You buy from that page I included.

 

i agree this was unfortunate and can't make any excuses for what was said by the tech.   without having heard both sides of the conversation it's difficult to say exactly where the disconnect in communication happened.

another option would be to return it due to the typo and purchase from the retail site.   the typo should be enough to get the restocking fee waived.   even though prices were similar, retail systems have the option of longer warranties.   outlet systems however are limited to one year.

if you need a different resolution then what's already been suggested, please post on the lenovo forum so it can be looked into.

 

I always find it odd when people want to go nuclear at the first sign of trouble, before they've had a chance to check out a more amicable solution.

 

sorry i missed your pdf attachment, since you did not mention the word 'depot' in your main body text.

 

The warranty service is outstanding in our 14+ years of Thinkpad use. They will send you new parts (keyboard), recovery CDs, disk drive etc. Or they will take it back and fix it and if they see something not great they will replace it even if you did not report it as a problem. Depot turn around is 3-4 days from the day you call them till the day your laptop is sitting on your front porch. Just be polite. If you get someone who is not making you happy just hang up and call back in 30 min and you will. I only had to do that once.

 

Believe me this isn't nuclear. I don't enjoy wasting tons of time though.

Things like this are simple to rectify. If you have the wrong info on the order page then you do one of the following
1) swap them with what they were told they would receive at no cost
2) you give a credit that can be applied to another product
3) you let them purchase another product then return the mislabeled one. (with a charge temporarily on card)
4) you ship the parts

What you don't do is say well there is a restocking fee. You don't dither and try to put off people until they are sick of trying to deal with the problem.
I called them 4-5 times already. Now they have pushed it back so far there will not be time to deal with it. It was terrible customer service. If it is subcontracted then Lenovo should be aware so they do not keep losing business. They should desire to be told. If they are aware of how things are being dealt with then they should pay in terms of lost customers.

In the end I will end up keeping the laptop b/c I need it for travel and won't have time to swap it prior to travel. Then eventually I will get the parts and fix it so I can use it, but that really is not the way this should have been resolved.

I will have to see how fragile the bezel is. The manual made it look straightforward to install the camera. The FRUs indicate that the cable should already be there. I wish I knew before I opened it if the cables are actually there though. If so it would be worthwhile, if not then there is not really anypoint as the amount of work would be far greater.